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The worry factor

Most of us, if we are honest, will admit to worrying, regardless of our personality or upbringing. It seems part of our human condition to be concerned about people we love or things that either have happened or might happen. So, we can’t escape our ‘worrying’ gene or tendencies but we can control the degree to which we worry.

Sometimes we equate worry with love. If you arrive home two hours late and your partner is casually watching tv, eating corn chips and barely flicks you a glance when you finally make it through the door, you would probably say something along the lines of “Weren’t you even worried about me?!” We do tend to measure love in increments of ‘worry’.

Other times, our level of worry can be construed as mistrust; just ask any teenager, they will surely say that their parents worry is in direct relation to how much trust their parents have in them!

So is worry, really love in disguise? Do we worry about people or things we don’t care about? Is it possible to love sufficiently yet without the worry factor?

We are constantly being told by the ‘experts’ not to worry but if we don’t worry that someone is late etc does that mean we don’t love them? If we are calm, and seemingly not worried, in the face of a possible problem or calamity, does that mean our care factor is zero? Does an absence of worry really indicate nonchalance?

Sometimes I think we are guilty of looking at others who don’t worry and taking that as proof that their love or care for a particular situation is less, when in fact they have just made a decision to not worry. After all, worrying really doesn’t achieve anything positive; it can’t change the outcome of a circumstance or prevent something happening.

So how about you? Is worrying how you show your concern for people or circumstances? Or have you found a better way?